Tree School to focus on putting some green in Fat City

At first blush, Fat City and trees would seem to have little in common. In fact, you can walk in and around Metairie's faded entertainment district without running into much green at all, much less trees.

The Times-Picayune archiveA look at 18th Street shows no green in sight in this September 2010 photo in Fat City.

But Carey Hammett, president of the Friends of Jefferson the Beautiful, wants to change that. That's why the focus of today's 11th Annual Tree School, which takes place all day at the Eastbank Regional Library in Metairie, is about urban tree planting in general and Fat City in particular.

Popular in the early 1970s for its bars and restaurants, Fat City remains an intriguing and confounding piece of East Jefferson. The area is considered a prime spot for redevelopment because of its location next to Lakeside Shopping Center, one of the most successful shopping centers in the state. But the stigma of Fat City's reputation, and concerns about crime, have kept any significant improvements away.

Last year, however, Jefferson Parish officials approved a new zoning ordinance designed to do away with strip clubs by the end of 2012 and limit the hours of existing bars. Business owners must keep their property clean and install surveillance cameras to assist police efforts.

In the midst of this activity, Hammett said it's crucial for property owners and parish officials to learn how to make Fat City as attractive as possible.

Some of today's panelists spent part of Tuesday in Fat City to help prepare for Tree School sessions that will offer advice on ways to green up areas where concrete and asphalt predominate.

Hammett, whose group is sponsoring Tree School, said other local spots that are over-cemented, including the Warehouse District and the French Quarter, have taken advantage of urban planting tactics.

Panelists include James Urban, a Maryland landscape architect and arborist who has taught at Harvard University and been an urban planting consulting for London. He will present some of the principles of urban tree planting in a morning session then talk specifically about how Fat City can be improved in the afternoon.

Also on the program is Kathleen Wolf, a research social scientist at the College of Forest Resources at the Unviersity of Washington. One of her sessions will focus on the practical effects of re-greening Fat City.

Tree School runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. However, Hammett recommends that anyone who plans to attend call 504.889.8733.

The daylong sessions are financed by the Azby Fund and the Brown and Lupin Foundations.

"I am most excited to be able to offer practical solutions to some of the problems in the community," Hammett said.

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Tree School is accredited by the Tulane University School of Architecture, the Louisiana State Board of Residential Contractors and the International Society of Arboriculture. The American Planning Association is offering continuing education credits to professionals who attend.